Scuba Diving

If youÌre ready to explore the underwater world in a more intimate way than ever before, then youÌre ready to try scuba diving. Scuba Ò swimming under water with self-contained breathing equipment Ò is the perfect way to experience the beauty of coral reefs, sandy sea bottoms, and turquoise blue waters. And of course, itÌs a great way to encounter sea life. YouÌll see schools of colorful fish swimming peacefully by, ducking in and out of hiding places as you float above them. You might even see a dolphin or a sea turtle!

Scuba is popular all over the world and all across the United States, from the sea lion habitat of California to the lagoons of Florida. People scuba dive in lakes, rivers, and quarries, in the chilly waters of the Pacific Northwest and the lobster bays of New England. Diving can be fun anywhere. This is a sport, a social experience, a lifestyle, and an ideal vacation activity.

To get started, visit a nearby dive shop and ask for recommendations on guides, instructors, and rental equipment. You can either visit a shop in person or find one online if there arenÌt dive shops in your area. If you like, you can practice the swimming moves used in scuba diving on your own by swimming with a pair of fins, a mask, and a snorkel. This will give you a taste of what youÌll experience when you don full scuba gear, and will get your legs into swimming shape.

If youÌre feeling intimidated by the thought of scuba diving, donÌt. Once you enter a certification course, youÌll be led through a gradual introduction to the sport. Classes often begin in the shallow end of a swimming pool and move Ò step-by-step Ò to open water. YouÌll tackle one skill at a time, from hooking up your equipment to breathing through your regulator. The course will involve plenty of practice with emergency maneuvers, so youÌll be well-versed by the time you make your first dive in open water.

If you know you want to learn to dive on your vacation, you might coordinate with a dive shop or dive school in advance. Many will mail you a training booklet, so you can learn some of the technical information in advance and save more vacation time for actual diving.

Look on your certification course as an investment. Once youÌre achieved your certificate, you can dive all over the world for just the price of the rental equipment. You can see wildlife like manatees, porpoises, lobsters, angel fish, and beautiful jellyfish. Or, if youÌre feeling more daring, you can join in cave dives, explore sunken ships, or view the shrinking Great Barrier Reef.

Also, be sure not to let a fear of sharks stop you from learning to dive. Most divers go their entire careers without ever seeing a shark, and history has proven that sharks simply arenÌt interested in scuba divers. Maybe itÌs the tank and bubbling regulator that puts them off! Whatever the case, statistics show that your risk of encountering a shark is quite low.

Picture yourself floating serenely above colorful starfish dotting the sand, admiring schools of blue and yellow fish as they go glinting by. This is the world of the scuba diver Ò a world you can enter when you give it a try. So why not get started today, planning the vacation of a lifetime?